Disgusting
by Unicess
Summary: Lucy's preparation for a guild-wide party is a failure, and everything has gone wrong, leaving her completely dejected. Luckily, she's got a pink-haired weirdo to cheer her up, even if he doesn't know it. NaLu one-shot. T for safety.


**Hey guys! I know you all probably think I'm dead or something, but I can assure you- I am alive! I am so sorry for disappearing off the face of the fanfiction world, but last year was a hard year for my family and I. And to top it off, school was destroying every ounce of me! I also got a long-term illness at the ending of the school year, so I had to focus on my grades entirely. Please forgive my absence! I want to thank everyone who read my other story, and I just wanted to note that it is currently on hiatus, as I am focusing on my other stories I have written behind the scenes.**

Also, during my hiatus from the fanfiction world, I allowed myself to grow as a writer as person, so my writing style may have altered a bit. I want to say I am no longer on hiatus, and will continue posting regularly on this site and account. Thank you so much! Here's my new fanfiction, I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, all my secret NaLu dreams would come true.**

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No! It couldn't be happening!

Lucy panted as she sped across her kitchen in a crazed, maniacal panic. Everything was going wrong! She was going to bake cookies to bring to the guild, just like she promised for a guild-wide celebration. It was the celebration of the guild's birthday for god's sake! And she was burning the cookies for the birthday party!

Lucy sighed as she wished that this morning would be nearly as peaceful. Fanning her combusting oven furiously, she flinched, already knowing the grim fate of her chocolate chip cookies. It wasn't necessarily her fault! Just, as soon as she popped the dough into the oven, she got all sleepy and dozed off…

"Ugh! Open, gate of the lion! Leo!" She shrieked, after reaching for her keys at her hip. 

She groaned as she swung the towel up and down, trying to cease the fire, swiping a blonde wisp out of her face. A shimmering appeared in her peripheral vision and a familiar face poofed into sight.

"How can I help you, you gorgeous, beautifu-HOLY SHIT!" Loke exclaimed, backing away from the enormous flames surrounding the oven, emitting dark, thick smoke in the surrounding radius.

"Grab. A. Freaking. Towel!" Lucy said through gritted teeth, gagging as she breathed in more smoke.

Loke nodded and raced to the bathroom cabinet, finally arriving back and fanning roughly by her side. Lucy narrowed her eyes, unable to see through the smog.

She ran the through the dark room, and past her neatly fixed bed. Quickly as possible, she forced her window open. She bolted back into the kitchen before slowing and leaning against the wall with an exhausted sigh. 

Loke grinned at her, wiping his brow as he turned towards the simmering fire and blackened oven  
"I'm pretty sure it's out…" He said, grimacing at the completely damaged oven.

Lucy nodded sickly.  
"Yeah, me too. Thanks Loke…" She said weakly , reaching for her key belt. 

"What!? That's all I get? No kiss goodbye-" 

He was gone in a shimmering instant.

Lucy shook her head.  
"Idiot playboy…" She grumbled, grabbing an oven mitt and gingerly opening the oven.

She could feel the very high amount of heat, even through the mitt. The door creaked, and Lucy quickly shoved her hand in and grabbed the cookie tray quickly, which was excessively hot. Speedily, she dropped the tray onto the counter, shaking her burning hand out.

When Lucy stared at the finished cookies, she wanted to cry. They were almost completely charred into nothing, blackened and still steaming. Peeling off a cookie, she placed it in her mouth. She coughed as the taste of burnt food spread in her mouth. Grabbing a napkin, she spat the food back into the white towelette.  
"Disgusting!" She cried, still coughing from the gut-wrenching taste.

Sighing, she collapsed onto the ground in desperation. What was she going to do? She promised Mirajane that she would bring something! She huffed, blowing a blonde strand from her eyes. Everyone else was going to have something to offer, but she had nothing! Lucy glanced at the clock and her worry only ensued. The party started in less than fifteen minutes! There was no way she could make it to the guild and change out of her cinder-covered clothing. She glanced down at herself briskly.

She looked slightly presentable, wearing a green top with an utterly short black skirt. Lucy winced again, realizing she should probably wash up to get the scent of smoke off her clothing. And change so she wouldn't look like she rolled around in a chimney.

Deciding her attendance was far more important than her vanity, she masterfully placed the cookies on a platter and covered them with a napkin. She grabbed her purse and snagged the strap around her shoulder.

Lucy ran into the guild which was loud and bursting with pent up energy, with everyone getting ready for the party and all.

Lucy huffed in, and a certain white-haired mage glanced up from her planning clipboard to look at her. Mira's face brightened.  
"Ah, there you are! I was beginning to worry!"

Lucy slumped onto the table, miserable. Mira frowned.  
"What's wrong?"

Mira glanced at the tray on counter, lifting up the napkin. She peered up at Lucy.

"Oh." She stated blankly as Lucy groaned indignantly.

"I tried and the cookies burnt up! I don't know what happened!" Lucy cried. Mira reached out and pat her shoulder.

"There, there Lucy! There's plenty of food to go around!" Mirajane exclaimed sweetly, trying to lighten the mood.

"I. Feel. Like. An. Idiot!" The blonde responded dully, banging her head against the bar counter. 

She couldn't do one thing right? All she had to do was watch the stupid cookies! It was so darn frustrating. Lucy wanted to scream at the top of her lungs in unjustified anger. She felt like a failure! Failure!  
"I've failed the guild." Lucy asserted miserably.

"No you haven't. Don't say that!" Mira scolded above her. 

"Hey Mira! What's wrong with her?"

Lucy continued to bonk her head against the counter in anguish.  
"And those cookies were going to be so delicious!" Lucy huffed, feeling hot. 

"Lucy-"

"My entire oven burned down!" Lucy broke in, ignoring anyone's and everyone's call for her.  
"Can you believe that?" She continued in disbelief.

"Lucy, listen for a-"

"I can't bake from that thing ever again! And you what my landlady's gonna do to me?! She'll pulverize me! Or worse, _kick me out_!" Lucy yelled, her voice slightly muffled. 

"Lucy, they're just damn cookies! It's fine!"

Lucy shot her head straight up. Nobody understood her! This was the end for her! No more home-baking, no more living in her nice apartment! She might have to live under a bridge or a cardboard box for that matter! It was all going under! She might have to sell all of her stuff and become a, uh-  
a hitch-hiker! It was going to suck so much!  
"No Mira! You don't understand! My life is over! I don't want to be a hitch-hiker!" Lucy screamed. 

Lucy felt silence sift around her. Opening on eye, then another, she noticed the entire guild's wide eyes hovering over her. Immediately ending her tirade, she blinked and blushed. Oops wouldn't cut this one.  
"Uhh…"

"I'm not Mira, ya' know!"

Lucy rotated her gaze to her left. Natsu. She blinked as he folded his arms and frowned at her in an annoyed manner. Lucy blinked in realization. Oh. Oh. _Oh!_

A white-haired bartender next to her fidgeted uncomfortably. She turned her award-winning smile across the hall and opened her mouth.

"Oh, it's okay guys! Nothing to see here! Just go on enjoying the party!" Mirajane coaxed, flitting her hands nonchalantly.

Mira's words were a charmer and in seconds everyone was slowly dissipating back into what they had been doing a short time ago. Mira placed a hand on her hip and frowned at Lucy. The stellar mage sat there in guilt under Mirajane's judgmental stare. Lucy sat there and hung her head like a small child, almost expecting a punishment.

"Oh it's okay! Just don't do it next time!" The take-over mage said, suddenly cheerful, and strolled away to gather more things for the party.

At Mira's depart, Lucy sighed in relief.  
If Mira really _was _very angry, who knew what could have happened! 

Glancing wayward at the platter of cookies covered by a napkin, Lucy sighed. All for those stupid cookies. It was quite ironic actually.

Hearing a muffled snicker over her shoulder, Lucy scowled.

"You're such a weirdo Lucy!" Happy screeched with laughter.

Lucy rolled her eyes at the annoying feline.

Happy wiped his eyes dry from constant laughter and walked across the counter towards the platter. He stopped at it and looked to Lucy.  
"Are these it?" He guessed, pointing curiously at the covered cookies. 

Lucy nodded.  
"Those are it. I failed awfully at baking those. I wouldn't eat them if I were you." She replied dryly and angrily.

Happy backed away from the plate and fell back on rear end to sit down.

Natsu took a seat next to her and snorted.  
"You're overreacting. They're probably not _that_ bad- Hey-" Natsu paused and sniffed.

"What _is_ that?" He questioned, mostly to himself.

Happy raised a brow.  
"What's wrong Natsu?" He worried, staring peculiarly at his friend.

Natsu frowned, inhaling again. Lucy and Happy glanced to each other before turning back to Natsu. He sure was acting strange. 

"That smell…" Natsu murmured. Looking down, he seemed to be in concentration.

"Lucy… Doesn't it look like Natsu's...?" Happy's eyes widened as Lucy nodded mischievously to him.

Happy put a paw to his mouth and Lucy gasped sarcastically.  
"Oh my lord… Is the great Natsu actually _thinking_?" Lucy marveled mockingly.

"Oh shut up…" Natsu growled as Happy and Lucy laughed amongst themselves.

Natsu sniffed again in concentration. It was quite strange, but…  
"Smoke." He concluded.

Happy and Lucy stared.  
"Smoke?" They echoed.

"Smoke." Natsu repeated robotically.  
"I can smell it clearly."

Lucy looked down, blushing. It was so _obviously _her, and it was so embarrassing! Happy gasped, beginning to speak.

"That sounds familiar-oof!" Lucy clamped a hand over Happy's mouth.

Lucy gritted her teeth. Just because it was obvious, didn't mean she had to admit it! Natsu stared at her inquisitively, if not suspiciously. She felt her cheeks burn and sat there awkwardly.

"I wonder why it smells like smoke." Natsu said apathetically.

Lucy and Natsu exchanged a look. A fast, short one, to be precise. Lucy broke away quickly, knowing how it would end. But it was enough for Natsu.  
"Maybe its… you!" He exclaimed quickly, jumping out of his seat towards Lucy.

The blonde had barely any time to react. Natsu grabbed her arm as she let out a quick gasp. Pulling her to him playfully, he grinned, his face inches from hers. In seconds, Natsu had buried his face into the gatekeeper's golden hair, pressing into the crook of her neck.

He inhaled her scent, which was the same as usual, warm and sweet and fruity, and intermixed with smoke. He held her for a while, and Lucy didn't react. She didn't move. He smiled into her neck and heard her sharp intakes of breath and her pounding heartbeat.

She finally opened her mouth, stuttering.  
"Wha- What…?" She gasped out.

This was by far one of the strangest and intimate situations she had ever been in. She froze as she felt Natsu smile against her neck, his lips brushing against her skin unintentionally. Her breath caught in her throat. Feeling him pull away, she stayed glancing downwards and she did not move. Frankly, she was afraid to.

"Huh."

Lucy moved her eyes and head up towards his voice. He smirked down at her and Lucy had no words or expression to rival him.

"You _do_ smell like smoke. Weird." He deduced rudely. 

Instantly, Lucy felt her face and neck warm.  
"What?! Weird?!" She shouted into his face, her head still reeling from his actions five seconds ago.

___  
_The summoner felt hot, slightly embarrassed and kind of upset. That was definitely one of the most close, intimate things life had thrown at her! And her best friend did all of _that,_ just to say she smelled weird?! She was practically in his lap! Anyone who saw them was bound to tease her for weeks to come! What the hell?!

Natsu raised a brow at her.  
"I didn't say it was a bad thing. I said it was weird. Ya' know, out of place, strange, abnormal?" 

Lucy stared at him. More confused than ever.  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Lucy burst out, yanking herself off of Natsu.

Natsu shrugged.  
"What I just said. Weird. Not bad."

Lucy stared down at her hands in cold sweat, not believing it. She slowly sat back up on the bar stool.  
"You do know that the scent of smoke is not a, err, appealing thing, right?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. 

Natsu tilted his head sideways.  
"It could be." He said blankly, confusing Lucy again.

"What?"

"Well, the smell on you is pretty faint, but I can pick it up. "

Lucy felt a wave of relief wash over her. At least 95% of the guild didn't notice._  
_

"And you still smell like Lucy, but Lucy with smoke…" Natsu trailed off.

Lucy eyed him curiously. And this was an awfully strange conversation.

"…. Is nice too. And different. Usually, I like the normal Lucy-scent the best. But this one's okay." Natsu explained simply.

Lucy smiled, and shook her head. Silly Natsu. She beamed up at him.  
"Which Lucy-smell do you like better?"

Natsu thought for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. He shrugged.  
"I dunno yet. I'll figure it out later." He replied.

Lucy stared down at the ground and couldn't help but smile again. The entire gesture was sweet. And then for a second, Lucy wondered about how she felt. Natsu's simple gesture had warmed her heart, and she couldn't help but feel that what he had stirred up in her was lo-

"You _liiiiike_ each other!" A voice squealed, followed by snickers of laughter.

Lucy's eye twitched.  
"Shut up, cat!" She yelled, shaking her fist towards him.

Lucy turned to Natsu, who didn't seem to notice or care.  
"What do you think you're doing?! I told you those cookies were burnt to nothing!" Lucy almost screamed.

Natsu had pulled the platter of blackened cookies towards him, eyeing them with interest. He pulled off the napkin lid and stared at the horribly burnt cookies, unfazed.

Lucy rolled her eyes up to stare at ceiling, sighing in exasperation.  
"Please don't-"

Crunch.

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, listening to Natsu eat the singed and destroyed cookies. She wanted to puke all over the place, not only because of the very speedy mood swing caused by the cat, but also because Natsu was eating those horrible cookies. She let her eyes fall onto him again.  
"Why?! Why?" She hissed, shaking her head.

"Those are probably hazardous!" Lucy scolded, highly disgusted.

The worst part was that he seemed to be enjoying it. He reached for what seemed the third cookie and popped it into his open mouth.  
"Hey, they're not that bad." He said in amazement after swallowing.

Lucy glared at him in disbelief. She knew he liked _hot _things, but burnt things?! His pyromaniac obsession was going too far!  
"You're kidding me."

"Nope." He retorted, giving her a toothy grin.

Lucy shook her head.  
"How-"

"Well, take it from smoky-Lucy-scent. You smell like smoke, but it's not all that bad. Not to me at least. And the same goes for the cookies. They taste pretty good all normal, but they taste pretty good when they're burnt too. Well, I think so at least." Natsu explained.

Lucy was warmed again.  
Because Natsu liked the things others found unappealing, like the smell of smoke. and the taste of burnt cookies.

Lucy shook her head.  
"Still disgusting." She added, laughing in between her words and long after. 

Natsu shrugged and turned around.  
"Hey, look! They're lighting the candles for Fairy Tail's birthday cake! Let's go!" He blurted out, reaching out and grasping Lucy's wrist.

Lucy allowed herself to be dragged along to the growing crowd around the huge, candle covered birthday cake lathered in icing. She let her thought wander.

She wondered if Natsu liked her sometimes vain, moody, strange, unaccepting behavior. Her flaws and outbursts.

And as she was crushed beside him and crushed into her other guild mates in a heated frenzy to gather around the cake, she realized she put up with his loudness, obnoxiousness, annoying cat, destructive antics, density, stupidity and eating tendencies.

And as the guild begin to sing for themselves and everyone around them, Lucy held onto the moment. In those loving, loud, charming seconds she realized that all those flaws, pro's and con's, his disgustingness were all the reasons she was falling in love with him.

And she loved that he loved the parts of her no one else did. Even if they were in his ridiculous, fire-loving, dragon-like, smoke-and-all-things-burnt instinct. 

Maybe she wasn't that bad of a baker after all.

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**There it is! This is my first attempt at something like this, so please bear with me! I had tons of fun writing this too. And believe it or not, this is actually my idea from the Carnival prompt for tumblr's NaLu week. 0.o. I know, weird. So this could be a late prompt for NaLu week if you so desire. Please tell me what you think! Thank you for reading!**


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